Sinistra Ecologia Libertà - Spagna

Nichi Vendola: For the New ‘Laboratory’ ofthe Italian Left 

Marco Damiani

University of Perugia 

Abstract. This paper analyses the re-composition of part of the Italian left following the 2008 national elections, when its more radical faction was excluded from Parliament for the first time in the Republic’s history. The study concentrates particularly on the ‘laboratory’ of ‘Sinistra Ecologia e Libertà’, a specific type of ‘movement-party’, founded and led by Nichi Vendola after his defeat at the Chianciano Congress of July 2008 and his subsequent exit from Rifondazione Comunista. After providing a brief biography of the man, the article examines Vendola’s leadership style and his attempt to build a ‘new’ Italian Left. 

 

Bulletin of Italian Politics - University of Glasgow

Vol. 3, No. 2, 2011, 371-390